


I Love You More

by irelandhoneybee



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Domestic Karedevil, Established Relationship, F/M, Ficlets, Fluff, Karedevil: A Year in the Life, Post Season 3, SO MUCH FLUFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 13:41:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17788451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irelandhoneybee/pseuds/irelandhoneybee
Summary: A series of ficlets taking place over the course of a year, showing how Matt and Karen express their love for each other.





	I Love You More

**Author's Note:**

> Each month incorporates one of the five love languages (words of affirmation, physical touch, gifts, quality time, and acts of service)

JANUARY

Matt didn’t miss his red suit very often, but he was sure as hell missing it tonight. It was several degrees below zero, and his black gear was no match for the weather. The red suit got so hot it could be stifling, but he would have welcomed it in weather like this. He sighed with relief when he finally got inside, almost too cold to move. He immediately snapped to attention when he realized Karen was standing at the bottom of the stairs.

“Karen?”, he said as he came down the stairs, wondering why she was up when she should be nice and cozy under the covers.

“God, I don’t know how you can stand it. It is brutal out there”, Karen murmured as he reached her and wrapped a blanket around him before she grabbed his hand and lead him to the couch.

“Come sit, I’m going to make you a cup of tea.”

Normally Matt would have protested: it was too late, she should be in bed, he was sorry he had kept her up, he could make himself some tea, but tonight he was so exhausted, so frozen his teeth were still chattering, that all he could do was nod and wordlessly make his way to the couch.

A few minutes later, Karen handed him a steaming mug (he could have cried it felt so good in his hands), and adjusted the blanket over his shoulders before grabbing another one to drape over his lap.

“Thank you”, Matt said sincerely as she cuddled up next to him, rubbing her hands down his arms, trying to warm him up.

Karen leaned in and kissed his cheek in response.

Matt smiled, his body finally starting to catch up to his already warm heart. 

FEBRUARY

“Hey baby”, Karen called out as she entered the apartment. She knew there was really no point in announcing herself since he always knew the moment she entered the building, but she had quickly developed a habit of it. She took her hat and gloves off and started taking her snow boots off when Matt came around the corner

“Hey”, Matt said, leaning in for a kiss before helping her take her coat off. “How did it go?”

“Good. I think I found everything we need.” She had spent the majority of the afternoon at the county clerk’s office.

Matt smiled and kissed her again, and Karen hummed happily against him.

“You are very dressed up for takeout, Murdock,” she observed, looking him over. He was wearing a gray slacks, a dark green button-down under a gray jacket. He looked delicious. So much so that she was willing to skip dinner entirely and drag him into the bedroom.

“That’s because there’s been a change of plans, Page.”

Karen raised her eyebrows. 

“Oh, there has?”

“Yep.”

“Do you care to tell me what exactly these new plans are?”

“Nope.” Matt flashed that grin at her, the infuriating cocky one, the one she would have hated if she didn’t love him so much.

“What are you up to?”

“Nothing. I just figured that since it’s Valentine’s Day, we should have a proper date. We should leave whenever you’re ready, by the way.”

“You’re seriously not going to tell me what we’re doing?”

“It’s a surprise, Page. “

“What should I wear to this surprise? Do I need to go home and change?”

“What you have on is fine.”

“Where we’re going doesn’t have a dress code?”

“Well, let’s just say it’s a little fancier than Josie’s.”

Karen rolled her eyes. “You’re more dressed up than I am! I’m not going in a plaid jumper and leggings. Give me a few minutes to put something a little nicer on. I have a dress here that’s at least a little better than this one.”

Forty-five minutes later, they got out of the cab in front of their destination. Matt had refused to let anything slip about what he had planned on their ride over, and he had confiscated her phone so she couldn’t look up the address he gave the cab driver.

“Romano’s?” Karen asked, looking up at the building. 

Matt just smiled and grabbed her hand as they walked into the restaurant. 

“Matt, this place is incredible!” Karen gasped as she took everything in, most notably the red, white and pink flowers hanging from every available surface. She slipped his arm through his as they were escorted to a table.

“You like it?” Matt asked softly, his thumb caressing her hand.

“It’s beautiful!” 

“There’s-uh. There’s more”, he said shyly. “There’s a room in back for dancing.”

Karen beamed, not able to hide her excitement. 

“Dancing?! You mean I finally get Matt Murdock on the dance floor?” She was thrilled. She had wanted him to dance with her at Foggy and Marci's engagement party, but he had begged off. She knew he was embarrassed so she hadn't pressed him on it, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.

Matt blushed. “Don’t expect much.”

Karen brought his hand up and kissed it before they took their seats. 

“I bet you’ve got killer moves, Murdock.”

Later, Karen laid her head on Matt’s shoulder as they swayed to the music. 

“Now you see why I’ve wanted to get you on the dance floor” she said softly “It’s really just an excuse to be in your arms.”

Matt smiled and placed a kiss on her forehead. 

“I definitely get the appeal.”

“Tonight has been perfect.” Karen told him. “But I know what would make it even more perfect.”

Matt smiled. “You read my mind, Miss Page.”

“Let’s get out of here”, she whispered.

They had to struggle to keep their hands off each other on the cab ride home, and Karen giggled, feeling like a teenager. She couldn’t believe she had gotten him to dance. 

MARCH

Matt winced as he brought the phone up to his ear. Every part of him ached. To say it had been a bad night would be an understatement. He had gotten his ass handed to him. And to make matters worse, Karen was sleeping at her place tonight. She had made it a requirement that he had to check-in with her on the nights they spent apart, so at least he could talk to her. 

“Home safe, Mr. Murdock?” Karen asked groggily when she picked up.

Just hearing her voice was enough to bring tears to his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, letting out a choked sob instead.

“Matt?” Karen’s voice was instantly panicked, and he heard the rustle of covers, knowing she had sat up in bed.

“Matt are you hurt?”

Matt wiped the tears from his cheek and let out a long breath. 

“I’m ok.”

“Where are you? Are you with Maggie?”

“No, I”m home”

“You’re sure you’re ok? I can call her” Karen offered.

“I’m ok. I just-I just needed to hear your voice.” 

“Matt, I’m coming over.” 

Matt felt a wave of guilt; he didn’t want to drag her out of bed. He started to say as much but Karen immediately cut him off.

“Absolutely no arguing Murdock. I am on my way.”

Matt smiled through his tears and let out a huge sigh of relief. Hearing her voice always made him feel better but it was nothing compared to having her there with him. 

He eased himself out of bed and headed for the door when he heard her enter the building, and when Karen came up the stairs she launched herself into his arms. Matt buried his face in the crook of her neck as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. Relief flowed through him the tighter Karen held him and for the first time all night he felt like everything would be ok. 

APRIL

Karen groaned as her alarm started chirping and reached over to shut it off. Stake-outs were not her favorite (she had had no idea before she became a private invesitagor how boring they could be), but she didn’t hate them. Except when it meant she had to get up at 5:00 in the morning. 

Matt stirred next to her.

“I’m sorry Matt, go back to sleep”, she whispered, placing her hand lightly on his chest.

Matt grunted. “If I didn’t have court this morning, I’d go with you”, he said groggily. 

Karen smiled and leaned down to kiss him. “I’ll see you at the office later. Good luck.”

With a sigh she started to sit up, laughing when Matt grabbed her arm and pulled her on top of him and started placing kisses all over her face.

After eventually and very reluctantly untangling from Matt’s grasp, Karen made her way to the shower, trying her best to wake up. She threw some clothes on and tied her hair back, failing to stifle her yawns. No one should be up at this hour.

She opened the door only to find Matt (with full bed-head; one of her favorite things in the world) standing on the other side, holding a cup of coffee out to her. 

“Oh my God, babe. Thank you.” Karen carefully took the mug from him and took a glorious sip.

“You’re very welcome” Matt leaned in to kiss her before going back to bed. 

In the kitchen, Karen beamed when she found he had poured a bowl of Rice Krispies and left a banana on the counter for her. 

She would make sure to thank him properly later. 

MAY 

Matt sat down at his desk and ran his hand over his face. He was exhausted. Business was booming at Nelson, Murdock & Page, which was great, but crime had been skyrocketing, so Matt had been going out every night lately. 

He looked towards the doorway when Karen started making her way over to his office. She and Foggy had been bantering back and forth about the best coffee place in the neighborhood, which normally he would have loved to join in on, but he wasn’t in the mood today.

“Hey” Karen said. “I’m headed to the library to look through their archives for the Griffin case.”

“OK”, Matt responded, standing up to give her a quick kiss.

“And I also came to tell you that tonight, you are not going out, we are going to your place, ordering food in, and you are going to get a decent night’s sleep for once. You are amazing, but even you cannot keep up at this pace. Call Colleen if you need someone to watch Hell’s Kitchen tonight, or I’ll call her. Or Danny; I think he’s back, isn’t he? But this is non-negotiable, Murdock. You can argue with me all you want, but it’s not going to do you any good. I can be just as stubborn as you. And you are taking tonight off.”

Matt’s only response was to kiss her again. The truth was, a night off sounded heavenly, and he had no intention of arguing with her. Karen was extremely good at recognizing when he was at a breaking point. 

“That sounds perfect”, he told her.

Karen raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going to argue with me? Wow, you’re even more sleep-deprived than I thought”, she teased him. “Start thinking about where you want to order from. I will see you later” she called over her shoulder as she left his office.

Matt smiled and sat back down at his desk, feeling happier than he had in weeks. 

JUNE

Karen flopped down on the couch, clutching a pillow to her chest. She was relieved that the day was almost over. She usually buried herself in work every year on what would have been her mom’s birthday, and it usually did the trick. But for some reason it hadn’t this year. She had tried her best at the office to pretend like everything was fine, but of course she hadn’t been able to fool Matt. He had tried to talk to her about it a few times, but she had brushed him off, insisting she was fine and didn’t want to talk about it.

She hugged the pillow closer to her. She wanted to forget this whole damn day. 

Karen sat up when there was a knock on the door. The only person she thought it could be was Matt, but he had a key, so there was no reason for him to knock. Plus, he was going out tonight.

She pulled the door open, and felt a wave of equal parts warmth and relief when she found her boyfriend standing on the other side.

“I’ll leave if you want me too. But I know exactly what you’re going through, and I don’t want you to be alone tonight. But if you want me to go I underst-“ Matt started, and Karen interrupted him, immediately bringing him into a hug, melting against him, and burying her face in his neck. 

After a few minutes, she took his hand and led him to the couch, where she cuddled up against him, sighing with relief as he wrapped his arms around her. 

“Tighter”, she said softly, and Matt chuckled and happily obliged. 

“Do you want to talk about her? Sometimes that helps”, Matt said gently.

“Maybe later. Right now I just want you to hold me” Karen said. 

Matt placed a lingering kiss on her temple.

Hours later, after she had told Matt one of her favorite Penny stories, about how she had accidentally droppied the Thanksgiving turkey on the floor, and seeing Karen was her only witness, had simply picked it up, gave it quick look, and whispered “this is our little secret” to her daughter, she drifted off to sleep still in Matt’s arms, wishing she could have introduced him to her mom. 

JULY

Matt walked into the apartment, smiling when he heard Karen typing on her laptop. 

“Hey roomie” she said with a smile, and Matt beamed as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Hey.” he said softly before leaning in for a kiss. 

They had officially moved in together. Karen had worked from home today while the moving company brought the rest of her stuff. 

“So I think everything is where we talked about; your dresser just had to be moved a little to the left to make room for mine.”

Matt smiled and hummed and gave her a quick peck. 

“Are you hungry? I’ll call and order dinner.” Karen said, and moved to grab her phone when Matt nodded.

Matt realized the smile still hadn’t left his face. No doubt about it, asking Karen to move in with him had been one of the best decisions of his life. 

“So, I-uh. I have a surprise for you Murdock.”

“Is that so, Miss Page?”, he asked, running his hands down her back.

“Yeah. And I probably should have talked to you about it first. But with the 4th of July on Thursday, I knew the fireworks would make the night unbearable for you. So I found a really cool, really reasonable Airbnb upstate; very secluded, and I made absolutely sure there will be no celebrations anywhere near there. This way you can have a good holiday for once. And it’s just for the one night, we’ll drive up first thing Thursday morning and drive back first thing Friday. What do you think?” She asked, biting her lip, and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. 

Matt was speechless, and was surprised to find he had tears in his eyes. Every summer since the accident he had dreaded the 4th of July. His ultra-sensitive hearing made the firework celebrations all over the city practically unbearable. Leave it to Karen to turn his least favorite night of the year into something enjoyable. 

“Are you mad? I can-”Karen started, but Matt pulled her close to him, and kissed her forehead. 

“A secluded cabin with you, and no fireworks? It will be like Christmas in July. Thank you” he said softly. 

Karen smiled, relieved that her surprise had gone over well.

“You’re welcome” she whispered. 

**

Matt took in the cabin, getting a sense of it, while Karen put their bag of groceries on the counter and started to unpack them.

“So, what do you think?” she asked.

Matt walked up behind her and wrapped his hands around her waist. 

“Very nice”, he told her, kissing her temple.

“Let me just put the food away and we can go for a walk. You can scope out any suspicious activity. We might come across a raccoon or something you can fight if you get the urge to go out tonight.”

Matt laughed. “Very funny Page.”

“Thank you. I thought so.”

Matt rested his chin on her shoulder. “There is only one thing I am interested in doing tonight.”

Karen smiled, and turned around so she was facing him.

“That reminds me; I have to change the sheets on the bed.”

Matt tilted his head, confused. “Isn’t that stuff usually taken care of?”

“Usually. But I highly doubt they have silk sheets.” Karen kissed his cheek.

“You brought the silk sheets?” Matt asked, floored. How had he missed that? 

“Of course I did” Karen said.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Matt said, grabbing her hand. He was incredibly touched; he hadn’t given a second thought to the bedding situation.

Karen shrugged. “I wanted you to be comfortable.”

Matt crushed her to him, so closely that he lifted her feet off the ground, making Karen giggle.

“I love you so much.” He said into her neck. 

They did end up taking a walk. Much later. 

AUGUST

Karen closed the door with a sigh and hung her purse up before slipping her heels off. It had been a long day and her feet were killing her. It was late; Matt had already gone out. 

She headed for the kitchen, wondering if she could find something to eat; they had yet to get groceries. That was a task they always seemed to put off until the last minute. 

She stopped when she noticed a note on the counter and felt a giddy feeling of anticipation. It was a rare occasion that Matt would write anything out. He was incredibly self-conscious about his handwriting (even though she had told him several times his was better than hers). Karen beamed at the note’s “I love you” message, laughing at herself that a Post-It note could make her so unbelievably happy. 

She spent a few minutes rummaging around in the cupboards, finally finding success with a cup of Ramen noodles. It would have to do. 

After making her noodles and pouring herself a glass of wine, Karen plopped down on the couch, putting her food on the coffee table. She opened her laptop, looking for something to watch while she ate before she continued digging for info for the firm’s latest case. She settled on Neda Kazemi’s reality show, her favorite guilty pleasure, when something on the bookshelf caught her eye. There was another Post-It sticking out on the spine of a book that Karen had never seen before.

Curious, she put her bowl of noodles down and walked over to investigate. 

“Oh my God” she whispered, pulling the book off the shelf. It was a poetry anthology. She smiled as she read the note, which read “happy early birthday” in Matt’s careful, precise handwriting.

Last week over dinner somehow she and Matt had started talking about high school. The conversation had started out with them trying to one-up each other with who had the worst stories, but had ended with them revealing what they actually had good memories of, and for Karen, her favorite thing about high school was her AP English Lit course her senior year, specifically the poetry unit. 

Karen carried her new treasure back to the couch, excitedly thumbing through it. Matt had picked a good one; this was a very comprehensive anthology, containing most of her favorites, Yeats, Dickinson, Barrett Browning, Rosetti, Neruda, and several others. A memory came to her of a short poem that for whatever reason had always stuck with her and looked in the index to see if it was included in the book, and was thrilled to see that it was. Charlotte Mew’s A Quoi Bon Dire, a short poem about a woman at the end of her life speaking to her lover, convinced their love will love on after they have both passed. She quickly flipped to the page and reacquainted herself with the poem. No wonder it had stuck with her. She would have to read it to Matt.   
She hummed happily to herself, leaning back on the couch, curling her legs up underneath her, her noodles completely forgotten, and spent the rest of the night reading, marking several other poems to share with Matt.   
Even though he wasn’t home, she could feel his love for her all around her. 

SEPTEMBER

Matt frowned as he heard the rhythmic, steady beat of Karen’s heart. She was already asleep. Damn. He had tried to get home a little earlier tonight. It had been weeks since they had had an evening to themselves.  
He sighed, making his way to the bathroom to take a quick shower, adjusting the water temperature. He closed his eyes, letting the water wash over him, snapping to attention when he heard Karen’s footsteps.  
Before he knew what was happening, the shower curtain was pulled back, and Karen stepped in.  
“Hey there stranger” she purred, and Matt smiled from ear to ear, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.  
“I’m sorry I woke you up” he said, closing his eyes as she started running her fingers through his hair.  
“Don’t be. I missed you.”, she kissed him, slow and deep, before moving her lips to his neck, her hands continuing to wander down his body, and Matt had to brace himself against the wall.  
“So I have a proposition, Mr. Murdock”, Karen whispered in his ear.  
“What would that be, Miss Page?”, he panted.  
“Well….tomorrow is Sunday.”  
“Mmmhmm”, he placed a kiss on her forehead.  
“So I say we don’t leave the apartment. Maybe even don’t leave the bed.”  
Matt beamed, bringing his hands around her waist.  
“I missed you tonight” she said, shaking the water out of her eyes, and kissing him again.  
“That sounds like an excellent plan” Matt said when they broke apart. “I think that’s the best plan you’ve ever come up with as a matter of fact.”  
Karen smiled before kissing him again, her hands somehow seeming to be everywhere at once. Matt shivered from her touch, and pulled her closer, getting completely lost in her.

OCTOBER

Karen slowly sat up in bed. Her head felt like it weighed a hundred pounds, and her nose was so congested she had to breathe through her mouth. Matt had already forbid her from going into work today. She vaguely remembered arguing with him, but glancing at the clock it was already 10:30. So obviously he had won that particular battle. 

She pulled the covers back, and started to attempt to get out of bed when Matt’s voice stopped her. 

“What do you think you’re doing, Miss Page?” Karen hadn’t even noticed him standing in the doorway. 

“Matt, what are you doing here? Why aren’t you at work? Don’t you have-”

“Shhhhh” Matt sat on the bed, gently brushing her hair off of her face.

“I talked to Foggy and we rescheduled the meeting with the Bennets to tomorrow afternoon.”

“Matt you didn’t have to do that. I’m fine. What is so funny?” she asked when he started laughing.

“You sound like you’re underwater. Don’t get me wrong-it’s very cute. But you are definitely not fine, MIss Page. 

Karen sighed as Matt propped the pillows up so she could lean back. 

“Don’t move. I’ll be right back”, he whispered with a kiss to her forehead. 

Karen scowled as Matt left the room. She hated being sick, but even more so she hated that she was making him miss a day of work. He didn’t have time to stay home and play nurse. 

She clutched a throw pillow to her, and looked up as Matt came back into the room, with a tray filled with several glasses of juice, a box of Kleenex, a copy of today’s Bulletin, and those cherry throat lozenges that tasted like candy. Karen felt tears in her eyes.

“You got all of this for me?” she rasped.

“Of course I did. And if you’re feeling hungry later, I got some of that chicken soup from the deli around the corner to heat up.”

Karen’s tears were flowing freely now; it had been years since anyone had bothered to take care of her while she was sick. She waited until he set the tray on the nightstand before reaching out and grabbing his hand. 

“I love you. And I really want to kiss you right now, but I don’t want you to get sick.” 

Matt smiled, and brought her hand up to his mouth, placing a lingering kiss on it.

“I love you too”. He handed her a glass of juice. “Now drink up. The sooner you get better the sooner we can get back to kissing. And believe me, it’s very hard for me not to kiss you with that underwater-voice thing you’ve got going on.”

Karen laughed, and squeezed his hand again.

“Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Always”, he whispered. 

NOVEMBER

Matt smiled as he got closer to the door; Karen had been cooking. The smell of bacon was making his mouth water. He tilted his head, confused. She had left the office a little early today, but he thought she was meeting with Ellison tonight.

“What is all this?” he asked as he entered the kitchen, setting his briefcase on the table. 

“Hi babe.” Karen came over to give him a quick kiss. “All of this is your very belated birthday dinner.”

“But we went out on my birthday.”

“I know. But it was on a Tuesday. No birthday should ever fall on a Tuesday. And grabbing a sandwich from a deli and eating it standing up because that was all either of us had time for is not an acceptable birthday dinner.”

Matt smiled, and pulled her into a hug.

“You didn’t have to do this,” he said softly.

Karen pulled away smiling.

“I wanted to. Plus, I wanted to surprise you. Do you have any idea how hard it is to surprise you, Murdock?”

Matt started laughing. 

“I must be slipping that I didn’t catch your lie about meeting with Ellison.”

“That’s because I didn’t lie. I just failed to mention what I was doing afterwards.”

“Clever” Matt murmured, kissing her once more.

“I thought so.” Karen grinned. “Come on”, she tugged on his arm. “Since you knew from the minute you stepped in the building that we’re doing breakfast-for-dinner, I’ll let you pour the batter into the waffle iron.”

Matt pretended to pout, and was about to make a joke about being forced into labor for his birthday dinner, when he got a whiff of peanut butter. 

“Wait a minute, did you bake too? Peanut butter cookies? With the jelly in the middle?”

“I did. They sounded so good when you were describing them. I mean, I’m sure they won’t compare to your Grandma Murdock’s, but...I thought I’d try my hand.” 

He had forgotten he had told her about his grandmother’s peanut butter and jelly cookies. They had been his favorite part about visiting his grandparents when he was little. Matt pulled her into another hug. “I can safely say this is the best belated birthday dinner I’ve ever had. And we haven’t even eaten yet.”

Karen giggled, and playfully pushed him towards the counter.

“Well, get to work then, birthday boy.”

DECEMBER

“Wow. I never realized as a kid what a dick Donner is. ‘This is man’s work.’ What the hell? Not to mention Santa. Jesus. And all of the reindeer are horrible. All of the sudden Rudolph’s nose isn’t a problem because he saves Christmas, but does anyone actually apologize to him? No.” Karen said, grabbing another slice of pizza as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer finished. 

Matt laughed and dropped a kiss on her shoulder. “Hopefully this didn’t ruin the holiday for you”, he teased her. 

Karen rolled her eyes at him. It had been years since she had watched any Christmas specials, and had gotten the urge to watch Rudolph after hearing the song on the radio that morning. 

“No. But now I need to watch something else to forget the misogynistic bullshit that was in this one.”

She pulled up Frosty the Snowman, which was a much more pleasant experience, even when she was trying not to laugh at Matt making fun of it. 

She went to pull up A Charlie Brown Christmas, when she glanced at the time.

“Oh shit, Matt, it’s getting late. I’m sorry, you should have said something.”

Matt took her hand and pulled her against him.

“Is this your way of telling me you want to watch Charlie Brown by yourself?”

“And miss the legendary Matt Murdock commentary? Not on your life.” She kissed him. “We can save it for tomorrow.”

“That’s a very generous offer, Miss Page. But I am not going anywhere.” He kissed her forehead. 

Karen beamed. 

“Oh really? Charlie Brown is that appealing, huh?”

Matt grinned and pulled her into a kiss.

“More like you are that appealing” Matt said after they broke apart. 

Karen smiled and rested her forehead against his.

“So, I do hope you have more on the agenda past Charlie Brown.”

Karen laughed. “Oh, don’t you worry. Do you know how many Christmas specials there are?”

She sighed happily as Matt’s arms circled around her

They fell asleep hours later, in the middle of It’s a Wonderful Life.

Karen woke up the next morning still in Matt’s arms. 

CODA

Karen stood at the window watching the snow come down, smiling as she heard Matt come up behind her. He wrapped his hands around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder. Karen hummed and placed her arms on top of his. Neither one of them had ever known or trusted or even hoped a love like this before, one that would be there through it all. It wasn’t always perfect, but it was always there, no matter what. They each knew how lucky they were not only to have found each other again, but to finally see and accept each other for who they really were. It was something neither one of them would ever take for granted.

“I love you” Matt whispered.

Karen turned around in his arms so she cold face him.

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "In My Life" by The Beatles
> 
> I searched for any reference to when Karen’s birthday is in both the show and comics, but came up dry. So I basically just assigned her an August birthday, with no specific date (probably late August for the purposes of this fic, as Matt’s gift is an “early birthday present”). For Matt, I came across a post from daresplaining on tumblr that stipulates he had a late October birthday, although in this, they don’t get around to properly celebrating until November
> 
> As mentioned in the “August” section; the poem that Karen loves that makes her think of her and Matt’s relationship is “A Quoi Bon Dire” by Charlotte Mew.


End file.
